Company Announcement - Pieter Fourie, Managing Director of Bidvest Materials Handling www.nissanforklift.co.za the importer and distributer of the Nissan Forklift brand in South Africa wanted an innovative and user-friendly app for his sales reps that would reduce the hassle of time-consuming admin. The company, which deals with the importing and sale of Nissan industrial forklift, employs sales reps that are constantly on the road meeting with clients. The business needed a sales solution that would allow them to record data and updates while they were on the move.
After browsing the market for various sales application companies, Fourie became acquainted with Field Office www.thefieldoffice.co.za and its user-friendly HoneyBee app. “The app had the right specs for the working environment our reps navigate every day. They are always on the road, so the app was convenient both for them when doing visits, and for us in monitoring their activity,” Fourie says.
As with all changes following the addition of new features to a working environment, the app took the sales rep team a while to get used to. The four reps at the Johannesburg branch were a bit wary of the idea about having whereabouts monitored at any given time by supervisors. However, this proved an advantage in the greater scheme of things, as Fourie points out: “Because we could basically track our reps’ routes travelled at any time of the day, they were more upfront and honest and would call us if they had to go to a doctor’s appointment or attend to personal matters during work hours. It helped with overall communication between us.” “The convenience of this app, and the transparency it allows for all parties means there are no hassles with communication.”
The app also allows real-time updates which can be shared with ERP and CRM systems if required. This meant Pieter and his team were able to monitor and compare the sales activity between his sales reps at Nissan Forklift, and see where improvements were needed. Interestingly, the real-time monitoring had a positive effect on the reps. “After the first week, we had our rep meeting when we review and compare performance. This created competitiveness between the guys, as they now knew we were going to compare them and obviously no-one wants to look bad in a situation like that. So the competitive edge created a definite incentive and that can only be good for the business.”
The team has now been using the app on an 8 month trial period, and Fourie has been impressed with the results. “The convenience of this app, and the transparency it allows for all parties means there are no hassles with communication. The sales activity has definitely picked up, proving the app is more than just a great addition to our sales team – it’s helping to improve our function overall.”